


Of My Enemy

by MapleCFreter



Series: The Underworld [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Friendship, M/M, but you should read the first one to understand how the hell this AU happened, the sequel no one asked for, this is technically a self-contained story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 14:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11853624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MapleCFreter/pseuds/MapleCFreter
Summary: Obito had been right about one thing; Konoha was rotten to its core. Tenzo knew this better than anyone, having spent his entire life in black ops. At least Kakashi had escaped the darkness to become a Jonin Sensei, and Tenzo was glad, even if that meant he had to face it alone.The new Hokage fights for control over her own forces, the Akatsuki grow bolder each day, and Orochimaru has his slimy fingers in places they shouldn’t be. With tensions mounting both within the village and outside it, there may be no good side left to fight on





	Of My Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned from the dead! Edo tensei-ing in with an unnecessary sequel.

Obito had let this go on too long. Five years he’d kept to the shadows, let Pein and Konan build the Akatsuki into a militant state, far more visible and large than he’d ever intended. He could not be angry with them, for it had been his stupidity that had made this course of action necessary. Once, he’d dreamed of only ten members, the number required for the bijuu extraction Jutsu, not the hundreds that now marched under their banner. At this point in the plan, the hidden villages weren’t even supposed to be aware of them. But then Obito had to go and tell Kakashi everything, had let his former teammates almost tear him from his path. Drowning in uncertainty, Obito had almost abandoned his goals. What was left of his plan would have fallen to ruin had Nagato not believed so strongly in it as well.

He had been elusive and unhelpful. Obito knew this, he could sense that they no longer trusted him, no longer viewed him as the true leader. He’d kill them all before he would let them betray him. It had taken him long enough, but Obito was sure of his path once more. He would escape this world and all the uncertainty and pain that came with it. He would reclaim control, starting with the traitorous snake who had abandoned the Akatsuki to pursue his own goals. Obito had never trusted Orochimaru, but the knowledge the man possessed was too valuable to let go. Obito planned to take his research after he killed him. Orochimaru needed to be made an example of, to show what happened to those who dared to betray the Akatsuki.

A narrow tunnel was cut into the side of the cliff before him. It was unassuming, not hinting at the vast labyrinth of labs that lay below. Lantern light flickered from within. Obito knew that teleporting in blind was a bad move. Underestimating the Sannin would be a deadly mistake. Tensed and ready, he entered.

The compound was empty. Obito teleported from room to room, letting trap after trap pass harmlessly through his body. A room full of poisonous gas had come the closest to inflicting harm, but even that he easily sucked away with Kamui. One thing was clear. Orochimaru was gone, and he had probably taken anything of value with him. Still, Obito was determined to find something, anything. He entered a lab, eyes drawn to the blood covered table near the center. At the back was a desk, and shelves and shelves of scrolls and books.

Something moved.

Obito froze, dematerializing in anticipation for another trap. The masked face of a leaf ANBU appeared from behind a stack of books. He poured over the documents spread across the desk, and had not yet looked up. He’d hidden his chakra well. Obito had not sensed him. Of course Konoha was here. They were after the same things Obito was: Orochimaru’s research, and his head. Obito would not let them beat him to it.

It appeared the ANBU was alone, though Obito was not completely confident in his ability to sense others, seeing as he had not sensed him. The man was broader than Obito, muscular and tanned with short brown hair. His mask was a cat, features highlighted in red. Obito wasn’t worried. Even Konoha’s top ANBU were no match for him.

Making his move, Obito stepped forward, and the ANBU’s head shot up.

“Obito…” It was not a surprise the man knew his name. Though Obito had been keeping a low profile, his face still took a prominent place in the bingo book. The ANBU’s voice was heavy with surprise, and something else. “It’s been a long time.”

Something clicked, and suddenly Obito was fixed to the spot.

“Tenzo?” Obito cursed himself for sounding so weak, so uncertain.

How hadn’t he recognized him? The boy had grown up, no longer a gangly teenager. Five years. For five years Obito had avoided Konoha like the plague. The last time he’d seen Tenzo everything had come crumbling down around him… literally.

“It’s been so long since anyone’s seen you,” Tenzo said, voice unreadable, “I was hoping maybe you were dead, though I suppose that was wishful thinking.”

His hands came together to form the sign of the wood style. This was not just an ordinary ANBU Obito was dealing with, and this fight had just gotten a lot less straight forward. It wasn’t that Obito didn’t think he could win, but he’d fought Tenzo before, and he knew it would be difficult. Just a teenager, Tenzo had turned the Gedo Statue against him. It had taken Obito a long time to retrieve the husk from the ruins of Mountains’ Graveyard, and now it stayed in Nagato’s care.

It was true that Obito had fantasized countless times about killing the man who stood before him, but he was not ready for this fight; not when he was just beginning to regain his focus. He’d come here today to find Orochimaru, not confront his past. If he fought Tenzo he would be forced to confront a lot of things. Sometimes Obito wished he’d left Madara’s seal on his heart. Maybe remaining a puppet would have been easier.

A column of wood burst from the floor, and Obito let it pass right through him.

“Maybe some other time,” he said, then activated his Kamui, and disappeared.

~

Kakashi and his Genin team were collecting herbs. It was so peaceful, so mundane, and so utterly foreign to Tenzo. He’d never been assigned a mission like this in his life. He was wound tight, dangerously on edge. Though he was aware of this, any attempts to regain control were near futile. He wasn’t sure what he was doing here.

Tenzo had arrived back in Konoha early that morning. He’d given his mission report quickly, but had not returned home. He had neither showered nor changed out of his uniform. The mask still rested on his face where it had for days. If he was tired, Tenzo was detached from that fact. His head was such a mess that sleep was out of the question. So, he’d followed Kakashi.

He’d wanted to talk to him right away, but Kakashi was already meeting with his team. Tenzo was still nobody, still defending Konoha from the shadows. He was so far removed from the life that Kakashi had now. Kakashi looked so happy, so relaxed. This was not Tenzo’s world, and he was afraid that if he were to step from the darkness he would bring it with him, and this new life of Kakashi’s would crumble away. Kakashi was so much better lately. Tenzo loved him more than anything, couldn’t do that to him.

Chakra suppressed, merging into every surface, Tenzo followed him like a shadow. He was scared. Tenzo knew it was irrational, but he could not stop himself from standing guard. It was protecting Kakashi and this happy, light part of the village, that made the darker things Tenzo did in its name worth it. That was why ANBU existed, after all, to shelter their home from danger. It was stupid. Kakashi and these children were perfectly safe. Tenzo hated that just seeing Obito again had affected him so drastically. 

Tenzo had thought of nothing but talking to Kakashi on his way back to the village. After watching him today, he’d changed his mind. What good would it do? No new information had been gained. It felt like he’d imagined the encounter. Maybe it had been a dream. Obito had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Had it been some Genjutsu trap left by Orochimaru? Tenzo felt like he was losing his mind.

When Kakashi arrived back at their apartment, he found Tenzo sitting awkwardly in the window. It was like he had climbed up that way and never entered.

“I thought I sensed you a few times today,” Kakashi said, taking off his jacket and headband. “I’ve missed you.”

Still wearing his mask, Tenzo’s expression was unreadable. He didn’t move, didn’t say a word. Still, Kakashi felt the eyes on him.

“Tough mission?” he asked.

Though, for someone like Tenzo, weren’t they all tough? Since Kakashi had left ANBU the man had been taking a lot more solo missions, a lot more assassinations, a lot more long-term reconnaissance. To Kakashi, Tenzo had always seemed above it all. Tenzo had always been a genius at compartmentalization, never let the mission get to him like Kakashi did. He realized now that was a naive thing to think.

“You should get changed,” Kakashi prodded, laying a gentle hand on Tenzo’s shoulder. “Then we can get some dinner. How long has it been since you’ve had a proper meal?”

“Sounds great.”

Tenzo did what Kakashi said, but everything from his words to his movements was robotic. He hadn’t met his eyes, and with every passing second Kakashi grew more worried.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine… of course.” Tenzo pulled on a loose t-shirt. “How was your day? How are the Genin?”

“What happened, Tenzo?” Kakashi asked, a little more forcefully.

Doe-eyed and innocent, Tenzo looked up at him. “Nothing happened. Orochimaru was gone when I got there.”

Kakashi tried to leave it alone. He knew from experience that sometimes what you needed was just to repress and move on. It didn’t get better. All through dinner, Tenzo barely spoke. He was so tense Kakashi could practically see the adrenaline. It was like he was expecting an attack. When Tenzo left the shower, Kakashi coaxed him into sitting with him while he finished some mission reports, offering him a mug of tea. Knuckles white on the handle, Tenzo stared into space, and Kakashi couldn’t take it anymore.

“Please just tell me what’s wrong,” Kakashi begged. “I know you well enough to see something happened.”

“I think it’s best I don’t.” Tenzo was looking everywhere but at him. “It wasn’t anything of… importance.”

Taking Tenzo’s hand in his, Kakashi slid closer to him on the couch. “If it has you this shaken up, I think it’s pretty damn important.”

“I… ran into someone.”

“What?” Kakashi echoed. “You ran into someone? Who?”

“Obito.”

The word hung in the air. Kakashi released Tenzo’s hand, sitting up straight, suddenly equally as tense. Tenzo was watching him out of the corner of his eye.

“Holy shit, Tenzo! He’s back? What happened? Are you alright?”

“He didn’t recognize me at first. Then… he just left. ‘Some other time,’ he said.”

Kakashi’s face was lined with worry. The sunny peace he’d worn that day was gone, crushed. Tenzo wanted to hit himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “nothing happened. I shouldn’t have been acting so shaken up.”

“Don’t apologize. I think it’s about time I faced that particular ghost.”

 _Not if I have anything to say about it,_ Tenzo thought, but kept it to himself. Kakashi had D ranks to do and kids to scold. If Obito had really resurfaced, Tenzo was prepared to face him alone.

~

Obito was not, in fact, the only thing weighing on Tenzo’s mind. His reappearance was just one more problem on top of many. There were many things he had not told Kakashi. Tenzo had a mission, a very dangerous and secret mission. It was no one’s fault but his own, for he had chosen it for himself, but it had him watching his back, flinching at every movement. Tenzo was investigating Danzo: the man who had saved him, raised him… tried to take Kakashi’s eye.

Pieces of information from when he’d been in ROOT combined with current chatter pointed to a very disturbing possibility. What had Danzo been doing the day he’d found Tenzo? Could it be that he was colluding with Konoha’s greatest enemy? Tsunade thought so too. No one knew about the mission but the two of them. On paper, Tenzo was investigating this on his own. The Hokage needed to claim complete deniability and Tenzo was okay with that. He’d been looking for traces of Danzo in Orochimaru’s hideout when Obito had appeared.

In return for him taking this on alone, Tsunade was working on a way to reverse the curse seal that still sat on Tenzo’s tongue. There was something terrifying about the knowledge that even if he found something, he might not be able to share it. Tenzo understood why Tsunade was suspicious. It took no stretch of the imagination to say that Danzo benefited from Lord Third’s Death. The Hokage had been getting in his way as far back as Tenzo’s own removal from ROOT.

There was no way Orochimaru was coming anywhere near the village, not with Itachi out for his head. The Uchiha had been on a long-term undercover mission to the Hidden Rain. But now that he was back and ready to murder the man who’d put a curse mark on his brother’s neck, it just so happened that Danzo’s absences from Konoha had grown much more frequent.

Tsunade was not privy to Danzo’s movements and Tenzo had not had a chance to tell her. He did not check in with her often. It was too dangerous. There were eyes everywhere. Danzo was leaving again tonight. He had to follow. There might not be another chance. It was too bad, he’d only been home two days.

He managed to catch Kakashi on his way out of the village. Pulling him into an alley, Tenzo kissed him, not carrying that he was in his ANBU uniform.

Sliding the cat mask back into place, Tenzo said, “I don’t have much time. I’m leaving on a mission. If…” He stammered, hating himself for putting this on his lover, but knowing he had to tell someone. “If I don’t come back, go to Tsunade-sama. Tell her I went after Danzo.”

“Tenzo!” Kakashi grabbed his wrist, nails digging into his skin. “You can’t just say that. What’s going on? Let me help. Let me come with you!”

Tenzo shook his head. “You don’t have the clearance, Kakashi, not anymore. I love you. Please, don’t forget that.”

He pulled away, using the body flicker to escape. The pain in Kakashi’s voice had been hard to take, but Tenzo was doing this to protect him. Kakashi still had something that Danzo wanted, and since Lord Third’s death he’d become more forward in his disobedience. Tenzo would not put it past him to try for Kakashi’s eye again.

After all, what had roused Tenzo’s suspicions in the first place had been the Uchiha disappearances. They were subtle, spread out: deaths on missions that should have been easy, a Genin disappearing while training. The investigations were closed as soon as they appeared, ANBU claiming jurisdiction. Except ANBU wasn’t investigating anything. It was ROOT who took the files. The Uchiha police force was starting to get antsy, demanding results.

Danzo moved under the cover of night, five ninja guarding him from behind animal masks. Tenzo thought he recognized all of them, except for one particularly young boy. The moon was near full and it was a still night. Tenzo followed at a safe distance. He was a master of tracking and camouflage, but ROOT was not a normal target. Just as he had expected, they were heading towards the Hidden Sound.

~

Orochimaru examined the clear jar of liquid on the table before him. Floating within it, suspended in a specially engineered preservative solution, were a pair of eyeballs; Sharingan, to be exact.

“A terrible specimen,” he complained. “I hardly regret having to give it to our ally.”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” said Kabuto, from his position leaning against the wall, “Lord Orochimaru anything but in awe of the Sharingan.”

“Well, I’ve had the luxury of quite a few samples, as of late. My standards have risen.” 

Kabuto laughed. “Ah… I think I know what you have in mind. I must admit, the curiosity is killing me as well.”

There was a stretching silence as Kabuto moved around the lab, preparing Orochimaru’s tools. He was just laying out a cart of perfectly sharpened scalpels when he spoke again. “I believe our guests have arrived.”

“I am well aware of that, Kabuto. They know the way down,” Orochimaru said, tying his long black hair up into a loose ponytail. “If I neglect to do so myself, please remember to thank Lord Danzo for access to the Uzumaki sealing manuscripts. Their understanding of space-time was impressive, far exceeding my own.”

“They were an amazing people. Truly a shame what happened; think of all the knowledge that was lost.”

The door to the lab was pushed open, revealing Danzo. He made a gesture and, wordlessly, three of the five ROOT agents disappeared out into the complex. Then, he removed the bandage covering his eye, revealing the red glint of a Sharingan.

“How do they feel?” Orochimaru asked. “Getting used to them?”

“I don’t think anyone could ever get used to these wretched things,” said Danzo, as he unwrapped his arm, revealing five more. “Alas, the things I am forced to do to defend my home.”

A cruel smile pulled at the corner of Orochimaru’s mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter jumped around a lot, which is super different than the style I used in the first one which had almost no scene breaks. Sorry about that. I'm just trying to set up a lot of stuff. Later chapters should be smoother.
> 
> So... I loved the ending of LIH so much I kind of didn't want to taint that by posting this. Here it is though, I do like this fic a lot, but for different reasons. The tone is a little different. Don't really know how to explain it, but I think you'll get what I mean. Two reasons for writing this fic are to 1, show you the AU that resulted from LIH, and 2, to justify the Obito&Tenzo tag it had. I realized too late to remove it that the tag only really worked if the relationship represented by the & was mutual loathing. Jk, it was a lot more complicated than that, and we're going to delve into that a bit in this fic. I know Obito was awful and abusive in LIH and did terrible things to both Kakashi and Tenzo, and I promise not to trivialize that here.
> 
> I apologize that I will not be updating super fast like the first fic. Those crazy bouts of productivity come to me at random and leave just as quickly. Hope you enjoy <3


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